Avenger Review *Some Pix*
Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2005 4:47 pm
Last week, I helped man the 21st booth at the IHobby Convention in Los Angeles. I was lucky enough to be the one to assemble and present the new Avenger in its various paint schemes, and give an honest opinion of it.
After the Con, I was allowed to bring one of the test shots home for further review. I would like to get together with Britt for some more detailed pix using his professional resources. In the meantime, here is a man-on-the-street review of this upcoming release.
For size referrence. I figure most collectors have a variation on the 109, so I used that as a comparison.
First, from the viewpoint of a toy collector, I am very impressed with the overall "toughness" of the aircraft. Given the various features and what could easily have been delicate engineering, the piece has proven to be unexpectedly stout without sacrificing detail. I've given it my patented shake-test, and it passed with flying colors.
The most recognizable feature of the Avenger, the backfolding wings, impressed me the most. The open-wing position is nearly seamless. I handed an open wing to a couple admirers at the convention, and even holding it they thought it was a solid, one-piece construction. The open position is held by three barbed tabs on top, and some snap-type engineering on the bottom. After four or five tries at hand postion and light pressure, the trick was easily found on how to smoothly operate the wing feature.
Torpedo doors.
The fit of the tail section to the fuselage is very tight and clean.
The tail gear is very stout and also cross-reinforced within the tail, out of sight. I don't foresee this breaking or bending under the weight of this monster. The locking feature isn't in this version, as it is one of the last details to be completed before release.
All of the landing gear are more than adequately beefy to hold this aircraft up.
I'm not going to post any of my feeble attempts at pix that Britt has already expertly provided. Using his, I'll try and explain some more features.
The ball turret is tight and clean. It can be turned on the horizontal plane, while the inner gunmount is elevated on the vertical plane, giving you the full range of movement. Removing the bubble to install/remove a gunner can be tricky, due to the tolerances of the design. It's a tight squeeze between the cockpit frame/glass and the gun bubble. Some simple squeezing is all that's needed to accomplish the step with no trouble. I think that with repeated use, this step will get easier as the newness wears off. The current test shots don't have the canopy glued down, but rely on a snapping-in feature. This makes any type of figure installation a piece of cake in either pilot or gunner's seat. I don't know how the production pieces will be as far as canopy attachment. Hopefully, the snapping feature will be retained.
The instrument panel is nicely detailed, and can easily be seen.
In the closed position, the torpedo doors are very cleanly fit.
Understand that this is one of the aircraft that I have been waiting for. If I seem a bit too positive it's because a simple toy dream has been realized.
I personally don't have any gripes about the Avenger, and think that the delays were worth it if this is the result.
Hope this helps, and I'll try to answer as many questions as I can.
After the Con, I was allowed to bring one of the test shots home for further review. I would like to get together with Britt for some more detailed pix using his professional resources. In the meantime, here is a man-on-the-street review of this upcoming release.
For size referrence. I figure most collectors have a variation on the 109, so I used that as a comparison.
First, from the viewpoint of a toy collector, I am very impressed with the overall "toughness" of the aircraft. Given the various features and what could easily have been delicate engineering, the piece has proven to be unexpectedly stout without sacrificing detail. I've given it my patented shake-test, and it passed with flying colors.
The most recognizable feature of the Avenger, the backfolding wings, impressed me the most. The open-wing position is nearly seamless. I handed an open wing to a couple admirers at the convention, and even holding it they thought it was a solid, one-piece construction. The open position is held by three barbed tabs on top, and some snap-type engineering on the bottom. After four or five tries at hand postion and light pressure, the trick was easily found on how to smoothly operate the wing feature.
Torpedo doors.
The fit of the tail section to the fuselage is very tight and clean.
The tail gear is very stout and also cross-reinforced within the tail, out of sight. I don't foresee this breaking or bending under the weight of this monster. The locking feature isn't in this version, as it is one of the last details to be completed before release.
All of the landing gear are more than adequately beefy to hold this aircraft up.
I'm not going to post any of my feeble attempts at pix that Britt has already expertly provided. Using his, I'll try and explain some more features.
The ball turret is tight and clean. It can be turned on the horizontal plane, while the inner gunmount is elevated on the vertical plane, giving you the full range of movement. Removing the bubble to install/remove a gunner can be tricky, due to the tolerances of the design. It's a tight squeeze between the cockpit frame/glass and the gun bubble. Some simple squeezing is all that's needed to accomplish the step with no trouble. I think that with repeated use, this step will get easier as the newness wears off. The current test shots don't have the canopy glued down, but rely on a snapping-in feature. This makes any type of figure installation a piece of cake in either pilot or gunner's seat. I don't know how the production pieces will be as far as canopy attachment. Hopefully, the snapping feature will be retained.
The instrument panel is nicely detailed, and can easily be seen.
In the closed position, the torpedo doors are very cleanly fit.
Understand that this is one of the aircraft that I have been waiting for. If I seem a bit too positive it's because a simple toy dream has been realized.
I personally don't have any gripes about the Avenger, and think that the delays were worth it if this is the result.
Hope this helps, and I'll try to answer as many questions as I can.
1:32 is getting so much cool stuff! 
Bravo 21st, keep up the good work.